Riders to the Sea
by J. M. Synge
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At a glance:
- Author: J. M. Synge
- First Published: 1903
- Type of Work: Tragedy
- Time of Work: The early twentieth century
- Setting: An island off the west coast of Ireland
- Characters: Maurya, Cathleen, Nora, Bartley
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy, Folk drama
- Subjects: Family or family life, Suffering, Twentieth century, Nature, Superstition, Rural or country life, Brothers and sisters, Individuality, Islands, Christianity, Death or dying, Ireland or Irish people, Peasantry or peasants, Paganism
- Locales: Europe, Islands, Ireland
The Play
Riders to the Sea begins in a cottage where two sisters are conspiring to hide a bundle from their mother. The small bundle, wrapped in a shawl, consists of a shirt and a stocking removed from a drowned man at Donegal. They fear that the clothes may belong to Michael, their brother, whose body has not been recovered from the sea. He has been missing for a week.
They and their mother, Maurya, have been in deep mourning. Their brother Bartley then becomes the subject of the girls’ conversation. Cathleen asks Nora whether their brother will be sailing...
(The entire page is 2968 words.)
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Popular Questions
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